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At 1:16 PM -0700 8/5/01, Neil Goldstein wrote: > I have never successfully used the LoopStart switch. From reading >the manual, its supposed to redefine the loop start at the instant of the >button press. The manual doesn't show any other settings before this >feature should work. Is there any possible user error I could be >making before I'll have to chalk it up to a repair issue? All the >other features are working fine. Thanks for the enlightening tips, >meanwhile. Neil This function of the EDP is actually called "StartPoint", and most likely you are just not understanding what it does. StartPoint lets you tell the Echoplex to consider a different point in your loop the "beginning". This has no audible effect at the time you do it, because the loop continues looping as it was. However, it makes a big difference for any functions that care where the start of the loop is. For example, Quantize and SwitchQuantize will now use your newly defined startpoint as the spot where they engage a function or switch to a new loop. (the point they quantize to.) If you are triggering loops to play from the start, this new startpoint is the point where they will start from. It can also make a difference for midi sync points. It does have a visual effect. When you record a loop, notice that the right-most decimal point of the display blinks each time the beginning of the loop comes by. When you change the startpoint of the loop, you will see this LED blink at your newly defined startpoint. StartPoint is a little odd to use as a function, because it is actually located in the Parameter matrix. So to access it you have to press the parameter button once to get to the P1 row, then press the button for startpoint. It doesn't have a midi command to directly access it in the current version, but in the next software it will. So let's try it. Turn the Quantize parameter On. Record a simple loop on your Echoplex. Make sure it is something where where you can obviously tell where the beginning is. (some percussive start or obvious rhythm or whatever.) Listen to it for a bit, and look at the StartPoint LED at the right of the display. It should be blinking each time your startpoint comes by. So you can see how functions care about the startpoint, press Mute somewhere in the middle of the loop. (it could be any function, but Mute makes this obvious.) The Echoplex will quantize this, and wait until the startpoint comes before muting the loop. If you press Mute again, you will again see the Echoplex wait until the startpoint comes before it UnMutes the loop. That should give you a clear idea about where the startpoint is and how it gets used. (you can also try triggering your loop from Mute, which is done by pressing the "insert" button while it is muted. you can press it repeatedly to re-trigger the loop and make it stutter from your startpoint.) Now let's move the startpoint somewhere else. Press the StartPoint button at some different point in the middle of your loop. (Do this by going to the P1 row with the Parameters button, listening for the right spot, then pressing the button for StartPoint, then go back to play mode). You should now see the StartPoint LED blink at a different point in your loop than it did before, which should be the spot where you just hit the StartPoint button. Press Mute again. The Echoplex will wait for this new StartPoint to Mute the loop. Try some re-triggering, you will hear it start from this new startpoint. So why is this useful? Say you created your loop in a very organic way, by slowly overdubbing bits here and there. It might start off without much rhythm to it, but over time some of the things you've overdubbed give the loop a distinct rhythm. Probably some point has emerged that feels like the "start" of the loop, and chances are it is nowhere near what the echoplex thinks is the startpoint. Maybe you want to start doing more rhythmic actions on the Echoplex based on this audible start of your loop, using quantize or whatever. So you quickly reset the StartPoint to this new spot in your loop, and then the Echoplex will use that as the beginning point for all quantize and sync actions. In the next generation of Echoplex software, these concepts will become even more interesting. kim ______________________________________________________________________ Kim Flint | Looper's Delight kflint@loopers-delight.com | http://www.loopers-delight.com